Tag: architecture

Construction Work on $30M Corryville Apartment Project On-Pace for Fall 2015 Completion

Post author By Randy A. Simes
Post date June 2, 2014
20 Comments on Construction Work on $30M Corryville Apartment Project On-Pace for Fall 2015 Completion

April 2014 Construction Activity [Jake Mecklenborg]

Uptown Rental Properties is making progress on their latest development in Corryville. This one, called VP3, is located on Euclid Avenue between Corry and Charlton Streets, and will add 147 units with 300 beds to the neighborhood. If all goes according to plan, the $30 million project will open in the fall of 2015.

The site previously included seven homes and a suburban-style Fifth Third Bank retail branch, and is located across the street from the planned site for a new Kroger grocery store.

Corryville has seen a wave of private investment recently that has added hotel rooms, apartments, and retail and office spaces. Much of that investment has come from Uptown Rental Properties, which has constructed hundreds of new residential units and injected thousands of new residents into Corryville over the past several years.

According to Dan Schimberg, president of Uptown Rental Properties, the demand for additional housing units in Corryville is so strong that they have revised their original plans over the years to try to serve the market.

“There is such an incredible demand for housing on the east side of campus,” Schimberg told UrbanCincy. “Originally our plan was to build housing for 1,200 people on Short Vine, but now we’ve increased that total to 1,600 by 2016.”

For better or worse, all of this development is changing the face of Corryville.

But unlike many of the company’s other developments surrounding the University of Cincinnati, it is not just students occupying the residential units being built in this area. According to Schimberg, more than 30% of the total residents are non-undergraduate students, compared with just 3% on the south side of campus – something he attributes to the growing demand for urban living.

“Three of the top five largest employers are in Uptown, and then have been adding thousands of jobs over recent years,” Schimberg explained. “What we’re seeing is a demand for workforce housing on the east side of campus from a desire for people to live in a more urban environment.”

In addition to the increased demand for urban living and the rapid job growth nearby, Schimberg believes the improvement of Uptown neighborhoods is also keeping and attracting residents in a way he has not seen since starting Uptown Rental Properties nearly 30 years ago.

It is expected that work will wrap up on the four-story VP3 development in the fall of 2015. At that time, a new 550-space parking garage, being built in coordination with this project, will open and provide some 225 public parking spaces for the Short Vine business district.

“The addition of these new residents is providing the core demand for the retail, and the residents get to benefit from those nearby services,” Schimberg continued.

Due to the philosophy of wanting the retail and residential to benefit one another, Schimberg said that the public portion of the parking garage is being built solely to help bolster the business on Short Vine. As a result, Uptown Rental Properties and the City of Cincinnati are sharing the costs for the garage.

Since developers are pursuing LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the project will be eligible for the City of Cincinnati’s LEED Tax Abatement.

Tags architecture, Cincinnati, clifton heights, corryville, Dan Schimberg, economic, LEED, Short Vine, sustainability, university of cincinnati, uptown, Uptown Consortium, Uptown Rental Properties, urban design, USGBC

Development News

PHOTOS: Cincinnati’s Dramatic, Decade-Long Transformation Visualized

Post author By Randy A. Simes
Post date May 30, 2014
115 Comments on PHOTOS: Cincinnati’s Dramatic, Decade-Long Transformation Visualized

The changes that have been taking place in Cincinnati over the past decade have been felt and noticed by many. There is a palpable buzz surrounding the Queen City these days.

The city’s central riverfront has almost entirely been transformed following billions of dollars worth of public and private investment, Over-the-Rhine’s renaissance continues to be touted nation-wide as one to be admired, and thousands of more residential units are being developed in the center city as we speak.

For those who live outside the city and may not have been back recently, or for those out-of-towners who have not yet been able to make a visit, it could be difficult to even recognize some places now.

Thanks to a new feature from Google Street View, we can now go back in time and compare Google’s most current Street View images with those they have taken since 2007 when they started the service.

Here’s a look at some of Cincinnati’s more visually impressive transformations, but it is certainly not all encompassing. Simply drag the arrow bar back-and-forth to compare the old and new images.

Clifton Heights at W. McMillan Avenue and Ohio Avenue:

Evanston at Dana Avenue and St. Francis Way (formerly Woodburn Avenue):

Over-the-Rhine looking south on Vine Street near Fifteenth Street:

Over-the-Rhine looking north on Vine Street near Fourteenth Street:

The Banks at Freedom Way and Walnut Street:

Smale Riverfront Park along Mehring Way at Main Street:

Avondale on Burnet Avenue near Northern Avenue:

Columbia Tusculum at Delta Avenue and Columbia Parkway:

College Hill on Hamilton Avenue near Elkton Place:

If you are having difficultly viewing both the before and after images, try to just drag the arrow bar back-and-forth instead of clicking on the images in an attempt to reveal the after.

And for what it’s worth, we totally stole the idea for this post from The Washington Post. What other areas did we miss? Let us know in the comment section.

Tags architecture, avondale, Cincinnati, clifton heights, college hill, columbia tusculum, development, downtown, economic, Google, over-the-rhine, photography, Smale Riverfront Park, technology, the banks, uptown

Business Development News

Greiwe Development to Break Ground on $35M Hyde Park Condo Building This Week

Post author By Randy A. Simes
Post date May 19, 2014
17 Comments on Greiwe Development to Break Ground on $35M Hyde Park Condo Building This Week

Developers are aiming to break ground on a $35 million condo building in Hyde Park this week, following a months-long demolition effort that began in late October and cleared the site of five existing buildings, some of which dated back 80 years.

Greiwe Development and North American Properties (NAP) say that the demolition work cleared the way for what will become a modern four-story building that will house 30 luxury condominiums at the corner of Observatory Avenue and Shaw Avenue in Hyde Park.

Named 2770 Observatory, the development will also include a 77-space underground parking level accessible from Shaw Avenue.

The development will boast some of the priciest new residences in the region, with units priced between $700,000 and $2 million.

“Hyde Park combines the sophisticated lifestyle of Cincinnati’s premier neighborhood with the exciting air of arts, innovative restaurants and blocks of unique shopping,” said Rick Greiwe, principal of Greiwe Development.

Not everyone is thrilled about the luxurious direction in which Hyde Park continues to head. Former residents expressed frustration to UrbanCincy, saying they were given notice to vacate their apartments “by the end of the month” so that demolition work could proceed.

Over the years, this transition has led to a migration of priced-out Hyde Park residents to seek more affordable options nearby in Oakley, East Hyde Park or Evanston.

Griewe, however, says that the vibrancy of Hyde Park Square is part of what drew his development team to this location, and that the active and engaging lifestyle of city living is what is appealing to his firm.

Both Montgomery and downtown Cincinnati are locations where Greiwe says they would like to do additional work.

The announcement of 2770 Observatory comes as a wave of residential infill projects have been sweeping across Cincinnati’s neighborhoods. Thousands of new residential units are either currently under construction or planned to get started soon in Northside, Walnut Hills, Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, College Hill, Corryville, Clifton Heights, Columbia Tusculum and Avondale.

Instead of the residences being rentals, as is the case for most other projects around the region, 2770 Observatory follows in the footsteps of 2801 Erie Avenue and Michigan Terrace, which were completed in 2009 and 2007, by injecting high-end condos into one of the city’s toniest neighborhoods.

Griewe Development has become known for high-end, urban residential projects. In Mariemont, the company has completed 106 units in the heart of the village. That overall development program has been built over four different phases including Emery Park, Nolen Park and Jordan Park.

The development team says that they are pursuing a LEED Silver certification for the Hyde Park project, and that it is being completed without any financial assistance from the City of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati-based GBBN worked as the lead architecture firm on the project, while Messer Construction has been selected to build it in conjunction with NAP. Construction work is expected to begin this week, with units becoming ready for occupancy in fall 2015.

Tags 2770 Observatory, 2801 Erie, architecture, Cincinnati, East Hyde Park, economic, Evanston, GBBN, Greiwe Development, hyde park, mariemont, Messer Construction, Michigan Terrace, North American Properties, oakley, Rick Greiwe, urban design

Business Development News

Western & Southern Aiming to Alter Lytle Park Historic District Boundaries

Post author By John Yung
Post date May 1, 2014
16 Comments on Western & Southern Aiming to Alter Lytle Park Historic District Boundaries

Proposed Lytle Park Historic District Boundary (City of Cincinnati)

The construction of Interstate 71 spelled the permanent division of several east side neighborhoods in Cincinnati including Evanston and Walnut Hills. But in the early 1960’s, an effort arose from downtown land owners around historic Lytle Park to preserve one of the oldest areas in the city.

Enacted in 1964, the Lytle Park Historic District has protected this area of the city which I-71 now passes under. Now, per city regulations, the city’s oldest historic district is up for renewal. A city staff report to the Cincinnati Planning Commission, however, reveals that several changes may be afoot.

The district has historically been split into two types of regulated areas. Area A properties were those that had to meet the strictest requirements of the historic district’s guidelines; while Area B properties were granted special allowances to accommodate some changes.

Over the last few decades Western & Southern Financial Group has slowly acquired many of the properties that make up the district. Most recently, the company acquired the 105-year-old building the Anna Louise Inn had long called its home.

The proposed district changes would remove some properties from the historic district altogether, and would also eliminate the distinction between properties. Specifically the Woodford Building along Fourth Street, a building along Fifth Street, a parking garage, and several historic buildings along Third and Arch Streets would be removed under the proposal.

In the letter to Planning Commission legal counsel Western & Southern attorney Fran Barrett stated:

“Our client’s desires to be able to provide for keeping its home office headquarters in the area which will ensure the ever-increasing high number of wage earners who add significantly to the city’s tax base, support a number of businesses and commercial activities in the downtown area, and continue to promote a major financial services company in the Central Business District.

There is a concern that an added layer of government reviews could deter positive economic growth at this location. Western & Southern’s track record demonstrates that all concerned should have nothing but the greatest of confidence in any future development undertaken by Western & Southern.”

The removal of these areas from the historic district would essentially clear the way for the financial services giant to demolish and redevelop the properties in a way that would not have to conform to the district’s guidance on new infill development.

Such information only fuels intense speculation that Western & Southern is actively eyeing a location to build a new high-rise office tower to consolidate its headquarters, and possibly even a second high-rise tower accommodating either a hotel or residences.

While the staff report offers no comment on the removal of the buildings from the district, the three buildings along Arch Street are some of the oldest buildings in the city.

The proposed changes will go before Cincinnati Planning Commission on Friday, May 2. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 9am on the seventh floor inside the J. Martin Griesel Conference Room at Centennial Plaza Two (map).

Tags Anna Louise Inn, architecture, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Planning Commission, downtown, Evanston, Fran Barrett, historic preservation, John Barrett, Lytle Park, public policy, walnut hills, Western & Southern

Business Development News

PHOTOS: Cincinnati’s ‘Pill Hill’ Continues to Grow Taller

Post author By Jake Mecklenborg
Post date April 22, 2014
No Comments on PHOTOS: Cincinnati’s ‘Pill Hill’ Continues to Grow Taller

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Research Tower

The expansion of the region’s medical institutions has not only been outward to new communities, but also upward within the medical treatment and research cluster that has formed in the Uptown area.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has been growing at, perhaps, the fastest clip of any company or organization in the region. The renowned pediatric research institution is continuing to grow with a $180 million tower currently under construction in Avondale.

Just a 15-minute walk to the south, construction equipment works at a frenzied pace in Mt. Auburn where Christ Hospital is in the midst of a $265 million expansion that includes a new Orthopedic & Spine Center.